Vienna in a global context

Many rankings and studies place Vienna among the best cities worldwide in the areas of infrastructure, housing, innovation and culture.

Vienna ranks first in many renowned international quality of life comparisons between cities:

• Mercer study - Vienna is still the number one
• Vienna is the best place to live worldwide - Economist

Studies and city comparisons - overview

Ranking	Title	Year	Language
1 of 25	Best Cities For Startups - PeoplePerHour	2019	English
1 of 10	"World's 10 Greenest Cities 2020"	2020	English
1	Netexplo Smart Cities 2020 Prize - UNESCO	2020	English
1 of 231	Quality of Living Ranking - Mercer	2019	English
1 of 140	The Global Liveability Index - Economist	2019	English
1 of 153	Smart City Index - Roland Berger	2019	English
1 of 101	QS World University Rankings by Subject 2019: Performing Arts	2019	English
1 of 25	Europe's greenest capital cities - Compare the market	2019	English
2 of 113	Prosperity and Inclusive City Seal and Award (PICSA)	2019	English
4 of 55	City RepTrak-Ranking - Reputation Institute	2018	English
5 of 25	Monocle Quality of Life Survey	2019	English
5 of 100	Sustainable Cities Index - Arcadis	2018	English
5 of 150	Global 150 Cities Index	2017	English
6 of 100	Sustainable Cities Mobility Index - Arcadis	2017	English
7 of 50	Anholt Ipsos City Brands Index	2020	English
9 of 50	Top 50 Smart City Governments	2020/2021	English
16 of 48	Global Power City Index 2020 - Mori Foundation	2020	English
19 of 500	Innovation Cities Index - 2thinknow	2018	English
25 of 135	Global Cities Ranking - A.T. Kearney	2019	English

What makes Vienna successful?

Quality of life and reputation

• Affordable housing
• Access to healthcare system and education
• Infrastructure: water supply, waste management, electricity supply
• Dense and affordable public transport network
• General safety and security
• Political stability
• Social stability

The local population and guests both benefit from the good quality of life in Vienna: Seven important questions and answers on the Mercer study (German)

Business and innovation

Vienna was ranked at number 16 of 48 cities in the "Global Power City Index" (GPCI) of the Japanese Mori Memorial Foundation.

Vienna among the top 20 most competitive cities

Vienna is smart, sustainable and innovative. The city is one of the most attractive locations worldwide for employees and businesses.

Vienna is the smartest city in the world

Culture and tourism

Locals and guests love Vienna’s rich cultural heritage, magnificent architecture and wealth of activities.

• Vienna cracks tourist record in 2019
• Record number of congresses in 2018

Science and universities

Austria's capital is one of the major centres of knowledge in the world. It is the largest university city in the German-speaking region.

University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna tops list of world's best schools